Summer of Love
by notonenumber
Summary: Summer break has just started for the students of McKinley High School and Sam has declared to Mercedes that this will be their summer of love. A Samcedes fanfic with appearances from everyone else...lol
1. Intro

songs i was listening to; bleed(eng), human nature(eng), miss universe(jp), ugly(kr), echt(de). leave a comment if interested in a song.

Whether you like it or not, I do appreciate you reading. Thanks a bunch.

Some chapters are deliberately short :)

* * *

><p>Summer break has just started for the students of McKinley High School and Sam has declared to Mercedes that this will be their summer of love. Let's see what happens.<p>

Chapter 00.

The waves rushed towards the their feet in the sand and quickly pulled back into the ocean. There they were, peacefully taking in the sights, the people and the now still blue water. It all provided the perfect back drop for Sam and Mercedes as they sat together on the beach, their fingers intertwined.

"I can't believe I'm sitting here, with you, without any shame." Mercedes whispered to Sam with a smile. She leaned against his shoulders and closed her eyes and gently rocked her head from side to side to a tune only she could hear.

He chuckled and smiled softly but remained silent, taking in Mercedes effortless beauty in the sunlight.

"You're not going to say anything?" she inquired, eyes open.

"I don't know what to say. Actually, I was too distracted by your smile."

"Sam-"

Stealing a kiss, he gently planted his lips on hers. A sudden sense of urgency intensified the passionate kiss and together they fell deeply into a trance connected to each other by much more than just a kiss, but by love itself.


	2. Chapter 01

Chapter 01.

0314. Her phone buzzed and danced against the night stand, barely waking her from her dreams. Mercedes tossed to the side furthest from her night stand and wrapped herself in her covers but the buzzing continued relentlessly.

Annoyed, she rolled towards the night stand flailing her arms for the phone. She picked it up ready to curse Sam to infinity but was taken aback when she saw the familiar phone number. It was Shane.

Did he really want to talk to the person who ripped his heart out and stepped on it on her way to her new boyfriend?

Maybe.

Did she really want to talk to the person she had hurt the most in the world?

Of course not.

The guilt had all but consumed her in the last weeks of school. Stuck in classes with him, his presence almost haunting her. She continued to deliberate whether she wanted to pick up the phone and face what she had been hiding from for the past couple of days.

"Hello?" she spoke up, groggy and hoarse.

"Um, hello? Mercedes?"

She was quiet.

"You don't have to say anything. I had actually hoped your voice mail would pick up, but your phone rings for an awfully long time" he paused "Mercedes, I hope you're doing well. I miss you."

Those words stung the most. _Miss you. '_How can you miss someone who hurt you the way I did?' she thought to her self.

"I didn't mean to say that. I mean" he paused again, collecting his words "I thought this would be easier as a one-sided conversion. To just say I'm sorry and hang up-"

She finally spoke up, her voice still hoarse "Why...why would you be sorry? Shane, you didn't do anything wrong. It was me. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't admit to you, admit to myself that it was Sam all along. The moments I shared and memories I made with you" she swallowed hard "are...are just as real and meaningful as the ones I made with Sam last summer. Deep in my heart, there's a place that's all yours."

"You sound happy when you say his name. I can hear it in your voice, you immediately light up. Are you happy?"

"I am."

"That's all I need to know. Is that you are happy and that you forgive me."

"Forgive you for what?"

"For not fighting for you, _hard enough_."


	3. Chapter 02

Chapter 02.

_Click. _0321. The time flashed on her phone and then she saw four unread text messages sent three hours ago.

0015. _Had an ahhhhmazing time wit u._

0016._ Hope u diddn't loase ur voice._

0017. _Sorry for the typos. I'm not drunk, texting just isn't for me._

0017. _Tiny keyboards, I hate._

She chuckled at the thought of a drunken Sam texting her embarrassing things a la Mr. Shue.

And with that, she drifted back to sleep.

"Cedes baby. It's 1 pm, you've gotta get up." her mom said in a sing song voice.

Her eyes opened slowly, "Hm?"

"It's 1 pm, and someone's waiting for you downstairs."

Alert, her eyes darted to her clock and then to her cell phone to confirm what her mother said. It was indeed 1 pm, 2 hours past the time she was supposed to get up and as expected she had one missed text message.

_1045. Morning. On my way._

"Oh my God, I'm late! I've gotta get dressed!"

Her mother exited the room, and closed the door behind her leaving Mercedes to get dressed. She rummaged through her closet and settled on a purple American Eagle shirt and khaki capris.

After showering and making herself presentable, she headed downstairs to see her mother flipping through a magazine and laughing. There beside her was her closest and least judgmental friend, Kurt.

"Finally Mercedes!" he exclaimed

"I know Kurt" she began but was quickly interrupted

"Say no more, we have to get going!"

They waved her parents off as they flew out the door in a hurry. They got in Kurt's car and he immediately turned to Mercedes as he started up the car.

"I'm not even going to ask why you woke up so late..." he trailed off with a prying tone

"Kurt, it wasn't even like that!"

"Cedes, you don't have to convince me" he smiled teasingly

"Ugh, you're such a perv! No! Sam and I didn't do anything. Actually, we just hung out at the beach till about 12am and then Shane..."

Kurt rolled his eyes, "Mercedes, please. Don't kill our time together. So what if Shane called? You better not have answered."

"I did."

"Ugh, what did he say?"

"He said he was sorry, for not fighting hard enough for me."

The car stopped in front of a boutique, the only one Lima had to offer. The words **catrack.** (read Cat Rack) shined in pink windsong font. They got out of the car and were greeted by a valet person in Lima's little slice of Beverly Hills.

"Um, Kurt I thought we were just going to breadstix for brunch."

"I know, I changed my mind."

"But I'm so hungry and it's Double Dip Saturday. All the extra spinach dip I could ever want."

"Seriously Mercedes, how can you think about food at a moment like this?"

"Moment like what? What's going on?"

"Jewelery designer extraordinaire Shelly Austin-Grant is unveiling her summer collection, here and now."

"Why should I care?" she retorted

"Maybe" he brushed his shoulder against hers playfully "you will find something to go with that beautiful dress you bought for Rachel and Finn's wedding."

"Are you kidding me Kurt? I'll be paying on that dress for the rest of my life, I can't afford to add another useless expense."

He scoffed at her unwillingness to enjoy jewelry shopping.

Taking notice to his expression, she sighed "Fine. I'll look. But hold my dad's credit card. I don't want to touch that thing while I'm in there."

"Gladly"

They pushed the doors open and were dazzled by the variety of jewelry on display. A young woman, dressed in a royal blue dress patterned with black designs and a thin black belt tightened around her thin waist approached them with a smile.

"Welcome to catrack!"

"My friend, Mercedes, is searching for a perfect accessory to go with everything. We have a wedding we will be attending and she wants something that will not only go well with her dress but with anything else she chooses to wear. Something versatile and timeless." Kurt announced without a breath.

The young woman turned from Kurt to Mercedes and spoke up cheerfully, "We absolutely have the best selection of jewelry here. In fact, Shelly Austin-Grant just debuted her summer 2012 collection and there is an amazingly beautiful charm bracelet in it."

"Oh, ok" Mercedes muttered.

Kurt nudged his friend, "Come on Mercedes let's check it out!"

They followed the young woman to the counter. She pulled out a stunning bracelet, sterling silver and a pink colored gold woven together perfectly. A single heart shaped charm hung from it with the sign '&' imprinted on it.

"It's simple and I love the feminine touch of colored gold. Pink is my favorite color personally."

"It is nice" Mercedes agreed, "I just don't think I can afford something like that. I don't even have a job."

The store door opened and entered a tall blonde girl, vaguely resembling Quinn Fabray but with longer hair. She ran her hand through her hair, pushing strands out of her face and rushed to the counter.

"I'm sorry, do you mind if take this customer?"

"Go ahead, we will just browse." Kurt answered.

The young woman turned to greet the new customer, "Hello Ansley!"

"Hi Jane. So I think I finally decided."

"Perfect, what would you like? We can customize it together."

"Well I have a picture." she said as she pulled out a small notepad from her purse.

"Oh, this is gorgeous. And what about this?" Jane asked as she pointed to the paper, "What color?"

"Absolutely must be amethyst."

Jane nodded happily, "OK"

Suddenly the whole boutique was treated to fifteen seconds of The Posie's I Guess You're Right while Ansley searched for her phone.

"Sorry" she apologized to everyone "text message"

"Sam again?" Jane inquired.

"Yes, the guy is obsessed! But I love him" she replied as she scrolled through her phone "I'm going to have to go! Do you mind if I leave this sketch with you?"

"Of course not, I'm going to need it for reference. It's going to be absolutely beautiful. He's lucky to have a girl with such great taste." Jane laughed and folded the paper into a perfect triangle.

As Ansley walked out the door, Jane turned to her previous customers only to find that they were long gone.

"Mercedes, there's a million freaking Sam's in the world! It's a common name!" Kurt started with a shout but gradually lowered his voice. He tried to not let the anger affect his driving.

"So you seriously don't think Sam would pass me up for a tall, blue eyed blonde girl?"

"No, because for some strange reason he likes you as wildly hormonal as you are Mercedes and while he isn't the smartest guy I know, he isn't stupid enough to dare mess what you guys have up."

She looked at him unconvinced.

He rolled his eyes "Come on, who cares about a size zero, blonde girl? There's a million like them. I would expect this from Rachel Berry but I never thought I would have to reassure the most self-assured, self-confident girl I know that her boyfriend is crazy about her no matter what." he said with a sigh.

"Damn. I'm sorry Kurt. I pretty much ruined your Saturday, didn't I?"

He turned to her with a smile as he pulled up to the curb of Mercedes' home.

"All is not lost my dear Mercedes. I have a date with Blaine."


	4. Chapter 03

Chapter 03.

"_Five gummies tells me you won't yell, 'I love Lima, Ohio'" Sam said to Mercedes_

"_You're damn right!" _

"_OK, ten gummies." he wagered_

"_There is no amount of gummies that can get me to admit to that lie! I cannot wait to get out of this town. Besides that would kill my voice."_

"_OK-"_

"_How about you say it?" she interrupted_

"_What? That I love Lima? Sure." _

_Sam pushed his self from out of the sand and dusted his shorts off. Loudly and confidently he yelled,_

"_I love Lima Ohio! I love it so much because I met the most beautifu-"_

"_Sam!" Mercedes warned and pulled him back down to the ground.  
><em>

"_What?"_

"_Please don't do that."_

"_You asked me to do it. I'm going to." he said as he rose again and yelled at the top of his lungs, "I met the most beautiful girl and I love her! Mercedes Jones! This girl right next time!"_

_He pointed to Mercedes as she hid from the odd stares of the beach-goers. Some applauded and cheered and others just continued on without a care. Sam looked down at Mercedes, holding out his hand for hers. _

"_Now you're turn"_

"_Sam..." her voice was soft and unsure_

_As the sun began to set, a chilling wind came over them. Mercedes shivered for a second, enough for Sam to take notice. He bent down and picked up the towel he had been sitting on and wrapped it around Mercedes. She nodded in gratitude._

"_Do you want to go home?"_

"_I'm alright."_

_Mercedes rose from the sand and looked at Sam with a smile. She cleared her throat._

"_I don't love Lima Ohio! But I love Sam Evans! This guy right here." her voice loud and strong._

A buzzing from her phone interrupted her memory and brought her back to the present.

She picked her phone up and looked at the new text message she had.

1445. _hello can i take u out tobreadstix? Theyre having a late lnch specil 5$!_

The text had woken up her stomach's brain and it quickly reminded her that she hadn't eaten all day. She began typing out her message but was once again interrupted by a text.

_Shld I be aplgzng for somthin? Kurt jus went off on me..._

_no, he's just hormonal. when do you want to meet? _ She texted back.

Within a minute she had received a new text message from Sam.

_lol is 20 mins ok? I'm gonna catch aride with kurt._

_sure. i will see you then._

_love you. -sam_

She stuffed her phone in her pocket and picked up the keys to her car.

"Dad, I'm going out to Breadstix with Sam. I'll be back soon."

"Sure Cedes. Don't stay out so late this time. Church tomorrow."

"Yeah, I won't."

Sam was already there when she entered Breadstix. He was dressed casually in a brown logo-less shirt and dark blue jeans. Mercedes slid into the booth, sitting opposite of him.

"You've probably grown tired of me saying this but you look beautiful." he said to her with a smile.

She returned his smile with an equally pleasant one and thanked him.

"So...it's double dip Saturday."

"I know! Kurt just doesn't understand the importance of this day!"

"Well I'm glad you didn't go with him earlier. I think I make a much better date."

Mercedes couldn't help but laugh, "You're right"

Her face suddenly took on a much more concerned look. She tried to hide it from Sam but he immediately read the emotions on her face. Her took her hand and stroked it gently.

"Something wrong Mercedes?"

She took a deep breath.

"Sam, I've never been more invested in someone so I'm going to need you to be completely honest-"

"Woah, you are starting to sound a lot like Rachel"

'Is she really rubbing off on me that much?' she thought

"Whatever Sam, I really need you to be honest to me. No crap."

His face went from a teasing smile to a mirror of her own, serious yet confused.

She breathed in and exhaled slowly, "Sam, do you know a girl name Ansley?"

His eyes widened as his face contorted from shocked to confused. He remained quiet.

"Well, do you?"

Finally, his face settled on a emotionless expression. He took in a breath and freed her hand from his.

"No. Never met anyone named Ansley."


	5. Chapter 04

Thank you for reviewing! I welcome all comments, so please continue.

songs i was listening; mister(jp), shark in the water(eng), love(eng), glad you came(glee ver)

Chapter 04.

The air was cool and still. Mercedes and Sam walked hand in hand outside Breadstix, the sun's ray dimming slowly.

"I'm sorry Sam. I'm getting in the habit of ruining people's day."

"My mind is so far from that but I'm actually glad you asked me because I want you to know that I have no intention of hurting you ever. I fought too hard to risk losing you again."

"I know that."

"Do you really?"

"I think so..."

"Mercedes, I want you to know so."

Mercedes had been walking a few steps ahead of him when he came to stop. Their hands still intertwined, she turn back to see why he had stopped. His eyes were soft yet fiercely searching hers.

"Whats-?"

Sam took a step closer to her, cupped her face and stared deeply into her eyes for a moment before pressing his lips onto hers. He slowly pulled back from her but his eyes were still engaged. It was as if they were temporarily suspended in the moment, unable to look away from each other. Finally, Mercedes looked away and took a step backwards.

"Um..."

"Oh, do you want to go a karaoke bar?" Sam asked, interrupting her.

"Lima has a karaoke bar?"

"Yeah, in fact they just opened one down the street."

"Wow, ok. Yeah, let's go."

They walked to the karaoke bar named Limalight. In their private room, Mercedes searched the control for a song to sing.

"Hey, what about that song?" Sam suggested

"Hm, that's actually a great choice. I love this song."

Mercedes began the song with the first verse.

_This morning I woke up beside by the river..._

_The grass and trees were green_

_Flowers began growing_

_The birds will sweetly sing..._

Soon Sam joined in and they sung the chorus in perfect harmony, swaying from side to side and stealing glances.

_ Cause my heart is yours.._

_My heart is...my heart is yours.. _

They enjoyed a few more songs, dancing and working up a sweat before calling it quits.

"Well I'm not going to keep you out all night this time."

Mercedes smiled, "Yeah, church in the morning."

They walked to back to Breadstix were Mercedes had parked her car. They drove in a comfortable silence to the Hudson-Hummel residence. Sam jumped out of the car, but not before giving her a peck on the cheek.

"See you later. Hope you enjoyed our date."

"I loved it Sam"

He smiled then walked in the house. Sam wasted no time once he got in the house, he went upstairs and knocked on a room door. Kurt immediately popped up from his comfy spot on his bed.

"How may I help you?"

"Kurt, can I talk to you?"

"Want tips on how to wake up with perfectly glowing skin?"

"Umm..no. I'm kinda out of the loop, why did you go off on me earlier and why is Mercedes questioning me about a girl named Ansley?"

"We went to a jewelry store yesterday and saw a perky blonde girl, _named Ansley_."

"And what does that have to do with me?"

"She said she loved a guy named Sam.."

"Are you serious Kurt? There's like a billion guys _and girls_ named Sam."

"I know! I tried to tell her that but she was unconvinced, because to be honest you are the only Sam I've come across in this whole town."

A familiar song began playing in the background, _ If they say why...why..tell 'em that it's human nature. _

"That's probably Mercedes now. Next time, she gets all girly tell her to cut it out because I love her ridiculously."

"Will do."

Sam went downstairs to his makeshift room within Finn's room and looked at his phone. He read the text message.

_Hey hot stuffxx. When are we going out? -A._

_Tomorrow at four. Lima bean? _He quickly texted back.

_It's a date3. -A_


	6. Chapter 05

Chapter 05.

Sunday.

As the sermon ended and the Church choir came together in a final joyous burst of song and dance, Rachel got up from her seat and joined Mercedes near the alter.

"You look and sound as lovely as ever." she complimented

Mercedes smiled at Rachel's genuine comment, "Thank you Rachel"

"Your voice was a little weak towards the end and you were a bit pitchy. Maybe some warm tea and lemon and a bit of rest to keep your voice from faltering and..."

"Thank you Rachel" she gritted through her teeth

"I'm sorry Mercedes. I know I go overboard sometimes, but I'm just trying to help you keep your voice in it's best shape. After you graduate next year, who knows what wonderful places your voice will take you."

Mercedes nodded slowly.

"But thank you for inviting me to your church, it truly is beautiful. Even though I'm Jewish, I have a great feeling about this and I think Finn would love it too. So if you're Pastor will have us, we'd love to have our wedding here."

"He wouldn't mind at all Rachel. I'm glad you liked it"

Rachel stretched out her arms and wrapped them around Mercedes warmly, "So, ready to go shopping?"

"Yeah, let me get my keys and tell my parents."

A few minutes later Mercedes returned and they got in her car. Mercedes scanned the radio for a suitable station and found one playing a song they both recognized.

"Oh, I love this song!" Rachel cooed.

_Maybe there's a shark in the water. There's something underneath my bed..._

Mercedes hummed the chorus as Rachel sang the song.

"Oh c'mon! You've got to sing this song with me." Rachel urged.

"Fine, fine"

They sang in unison.

_Right is right. Rules are rules. This is more like April fools. Just winding you up. Jack be nimble, Jack be quick. Please don't make to much of it. It ain't that serious..._

Once the song finished Rachel clapped happily, "Beautiful!"

At the same time, they were quickly approaching their friends home. Mercedes slowed as she pulled into the driveway of Quinn Fabray.

Quinn opened the door upon the first ring. Her normally flawless appearance was slightly tainted with shadows under her eyes and a worn expression. She yawned loudly and leaned back in a deep stretch. They tried to hold in their shock as they took in Quinn's new look. She hadn't even left, yet she had changed so drastically.

"You guys are early." she said just above a whisper

"The agreed upon time was 12:45, it's 1pm." Rachel said as she pointed to her watch

"Is it? I guess I've been too preoccupied with packing. Oh well, I'm nearly done. You guys can just wait for me in the car. I'll be just a minute."

"Are you alright Quinn?" Mercedes asked with slight worry in her voice

"Yes. Just stayed up all morning, or was it all night? Well I'll be down in a minute, wait for me outside."

They exited as quickly as they came in and sat quietly in the car. Within a minute, Quinn was on the outside of Mercedes' car opening the door to the back seat. They were both shock to see how quickly Quinn had transform back into the beauty they had always seen her as. She had grown out her shoulder length hair so now it hung just above her armpit.

"So where to girls?"

"Bridal shop!" Rachel announced excitedly

For the most part they drove in silence with Quinn only asking a few questions about how they had been since the last day of school. Quinn had been so busy with packing for Yale she didn't have any time to enjoy the summer and the wedding planning that everyone else was caught up in. They parked in front of the bridal shop and got out.

Rachel rushed inside with her eyes set on a dress hanging up.

"May I help you?" the saleswoman asked

Rachel didn't say a word, she just pointed to the dress and shook her head as tears welled up in her eyes.

"What's wrong Rachel?" Mercedes asked

"That's the one." she replied, her eyes still fixated on the dress

"Are you sure? There's like a hundred dresses in here and you haven't seen any of them."

"I've never been more sure Mercedes! This is the one." she turned from Mercedes to the saleswoman "I need to try this one on"

"Of course. Let me take you to our fitting room."

The girls followed Rachel into the fitting room. She slipped out of her clothes and into the dress. Examining the dress, she traced her hand against it's simple embossed design. It resembled a sun dress; light and airy and strapless, coming just above her knee.

She spun around with a smile, "How does it look?"

"Wow Rachel, it looks very nice." Mercedes said with a nod of approval.

"I agree, it does look nice. Of course, it would look just as nice in four yours..." Quinn trailed off.

Rachel just brushed off Quinn's comment and turned back to Mercedes.

"So Mercedes" Rachel began to probe "did you consider my proposal?"

"What proposal?" Quinn asked in a suspicious tone.

"Quinn, this is something that doesn't concern you. You're unwillingness to be happy for me and Finn has assured me that."

Quinn turned to Mercedes with an incredulous look, "You cannot be seriously considering marrying Sam?"

"Why couldn't she be?" Rachel defended

"No, I'm not."

Quinn let out a sigh of relief, "Well, I'm glad you have your mind on the right track Mercedes because I've dated Sam _and _Finn. Sam isn't in a position to get married. Neither of them are."

"Quinn, why can't you just support me like I supported you?"

"At one time you were my voice of reason who kept me from making the stupidest mistake of my life and I'm trying to be yours but you are not listening! I can't believe how incredibly stubborn and stupid you are being."

Rachel shook her head in hurt and disbelief, "Please leave Quinn"

Quinn rose from her seat.

"No, stay Quinn" Mercedes said

"It's alright Mercedes. I still have a lot more packing to do. I'll...see you later"

* * *

><p>At the Lima Bean Sam stared anxiously at the clock. A female's hand swept across his back and shoulder, he turned around quickly and was greeted with a bright warm smile.<p>

"Hey hot stuff"

"Ansley..." he said in a low, annoyed voice

"OK, I'll behave." she said as she sat down across from him, "So what did I do now?"

"You got caught for one."

"If I got caught, the police would have me. Clearly they have no evidence."

"Huh?"

"What? Nothing..."

Sam rolled his eyes and shook his head, "Seriously Ansley. Does subtlety mean anything to you?"

"I have no idea what I've done wrong."

"I love Sam. The jewelry store. Ring a bell?"

Her eyebrows furrowed deeply as she thought about it.

"When I was at cat rack?"

He nodded along with her slowly in a now-you-get-it sort of way.

She continued, "But you showed me her picture, cute blonde cheerleader with green eyes. She wasn't in there, I swear."

* * *

><p>not too much samcedes this go round :( too tired to post chapter 6 &amp; 7 but they are coming with so much samcedes, you just may overdose lol<p> 


	7. Chapter 06

Quick notes:

-Thanks again for reviewing, it means a lot. Cause I know I fail as a writer and would like to improve.

-I truly hate when shows ruin my favorite ships (Degrassi, One Tree Hill...smh) trust that I have no intention on doing that, so please read on.

-You guys probably notice this by now but I use italics for songs, text messages and memories (or anything that happened in the past). And the second half of 3x14 doesn't exist in this world.

And copying and pasting this for clarification~  
>I deliberately write some chapters short or go back into the past (writing in <em>italics<em> to distinguish between past and present). I have many chapters planned and am building up to [it] by letting you see how the got together in their final weeks of school. Hope that made sense..

:)

* * *

><p>Chapter 06.<p>

_Dressed in her red cap and gown, Rachel paced back and forth in her room as she held tightly to the white envelope. Her hands began to tremble as she positioned it to be opened. She slowly took in a breath, closed her eyes and finally let out it out before ripping the envelope open._

"_What are you doing?"_

_The voice was warm and motherly._

_Side stepping the question Rachel spoke softly, "I won't be much longer."_

_"Give me the envelope the Rachel."_

_She turned to the voice, "I just...I..I have to know.." she stumbled_

_Mercedes held out her hand for the envelope. She could see the resistance in Rachel's face but remained firm with her hand out. Giving in Rachel placed the envelope in her hand just before her room door opened and entered her dads._

_"Oh my... My baby, you look so beautiful." Hiram complimented_

_"You're not supposed to say that. It's not even my wedding day."_

_"I can't help it, you look so beautiful."_

_Mercedes looked at her watch, "Ok. We've gotta get going!" she pushed Rachel out the door._

_"I'll see you at the graduation!" Rachel from the hallway_

_They got in Mercedes car and Rachel immediately began interrogating her._

_"What is the deal with you and Sam? You kissed, and broke his heart...and Shane's. So now where do you guys stand? And you can't lie to me, I saw the way you were staring at him at Nationals."_

_Mercedes didn't think too deeply or even at all about the question, "Nothing happened Rachel." _

_They drove the rest of the way in near silence. Once they had reached the school, they met up with their friends and family. Mercedes left the seniors and sat down a few seats away from Sam._

_Rachel's dads each kissed her forehead and hugged her before sending her off into the crowd of students waiting to be called up to the stage to receive their diplomas. The graduation ceremony opened with Mercedes singing ever so beautifully an acapella version of Natasha Bedingfeld's Strip Me. Her glee club family lip synched the song as the lyrics resonated with them._

**_Take what you want, steal my pride, build me up, but cut me down to size..._**

**_Shut me out.._**

**_But I'll just scream, _**

**"_I'm only one voice in a million, but you ain't taking that from me."_**

_She belted the chorus as the band and her church choir joined in. The audience erupted into a joyous roar of praise and claps. She tried to smile to the whole crowd but she couldn't help but stare at just one person, Sam Evans. He cheered her on so passionately, it made it nearly impossible for her to focus on anyone else but him. _

_She congratulated the 2012 graduates and walked off the stage to her seat. Principal Figgins introduced the class with praise for the achievements and began calling the names of the students._

"_Julliard bound Tina Cohen-Chang..." _

_The audience applauded as Tina walked across the stage towards the principal. Mike clapped wildly as he tried to hold back tears._

"_Also Julliard bound Mike Chang.." he continued, and once again their was an immense amount of cheer and applause. Almost all of the students had received their diplomas until there was just four names remaining. _

"_Finn Hudson"_

_Finn glanced behind him at his bride to be. She gave him a congratulatory nod and mouthed, "I love you". He walked up the steps and onto the stage to accept his diploma and thank the faculty._

"_The New York Academy-" Principal Figgins began but paused shortly to turn around to Mr. Schuester who shook his head._

"_Rachel Berry...Kurt Hummel..." he announced with short pauses in between the two names._

_One after another, they walked up to the stage and across it, receiving their diplomas from him and shaking the hands of the faculty._

_Mr. Schuester walked to the podium, "The Glee club would also like to recognize the achievements made by Rachel Berry and Kurt Hummel, who were both finalists at NYADA and are waiting acceptance."_

_The audience once again broke out into cheer and clapped rhythmically._

_Principal Figgins returned to the podium and announced, "Finally, Yale bound and your 2012 class Valedictorian, Quinn Fabray." _

_Her hair pulled back into a perfect bun tied lowly, she looked as elegant as ever as she walked up the steps to the stage. _

"_Thank you Principal Figgins." she said and turned to the audience, "How many times will we have had the door shut in our face and told we aren't good enough in our future?"_

_She paused to look down, "Too many times. In the Glee club, it was something we heard and knew all too well, but it wasn't something we accepted. We knew we were good enough, that we are good enough..."_

_Her speech was filled with words of opportunity and passion. She looked onto the crowd and began to wrap up her speech, "We cherished everyone's differences and I would like to ask my fellow graduates to take this mentality with you, wherever you go. There are far too many opportunities in the future to miss by being close-minded and afraid. Love and appreciate others for more than that what they are on the outside."_

_Sam and Mercedes exchanged glances and smiled warmly at each other as Quinn's words sank deeper into the the forefront of their minds and hearts. Her speech, though not about them, had reawakened their feelings for each other and attacked their hearts so perfectly it was impossible to ignore. Up to that point, Mercedes had been afraid of the way she felt about Sam and tried to keep those feelings to herself._

_Ignoring the three bodies that separated them, Sam stretched his arm out towards Mercedes. She stretched out her arm as well, and grabbed onto the tips of his fingers and caressed them gently._

"_To my friends of the 2012 graduating class. I wish you the best in all that you do."_

_As the newly graduated students gathered outside the school, it was apparent that Sam and Mercedes were not there. _

"_Where's Sam and Mercedes?" asked Finn._

_Sam grabbed Mercedes hand and led her behind the school away from the crowd. The silence created tension within Mercedes as she followed him, her hands hot and clammy. She swallowed hard as if trying to push her heart back down her throat and into her chest from which it was trying to escape. They stood against the wall and he held tightly to her hand._

"_I just wanted to talk to you privately" he spoke softly_

_She remained silent, breathing deeply in another failed attempt to get her heart to slow down. _

"_You look beautiful." he said as he pushed a few strands of hair from her face_

"_Thank you." _

_She couldn't bare looking into his liquid blue eyes, so she lowered her head, focusing on their shoes touching. He put two fingers to her chin and pushed her face up, forcing her to look into his eyes. _

"_No. Thank you"_

"_For what?"_

"_For choosing me."_

"_My heart chose you." she confessed, "It chose you from the beginning of this whole Shane versus Sam mess and I couldn't stand to hold back the feelings anymore." her voice cracked towards the end._

"_C'mon Mercedes, don't cry. I want to add this to one of my favorite memories of us, but I can't do that if you cry. I want to remember you in this moment, as beautiful as you are."_

_She held back the tears with a smile._

"_And I want to remember that kiss"_

"_What kiss?"_

"_This one."_

_He lowered his lips to hers and pressed against them, her lips trembled weakly in his. He pressed harder and more passionately and she couldn't help but enjoy the closeness of it all, the way it made her feel. His lips moving remarkably in sync with hers, it was like a duet, the chemistry undeniable. He stepped back and asked her if the kiss was alright. _

_She tried to speak up, but with that, he took her breath away. _


End file.
